Robert W. Bower American scientist, physicist Date of Birth: 12.06.1936 Country: USA

1. Biography of Robert Bauer
2. Contributions to Self-Aligned Gate Field-Effect Transistors
3. Controversy and Recognition
4. Continued Work and Achievements

Biography of Robert Bauer

Robert Bauer is an American scientist and physicist best known as the creator of self-aligned gate field-effect transistors. He was born in Santa Monica, California and spent most of his life in California, except for four years of service in the Air Force. After completing his military service, Bauer attended the University of California, Berkeley, where he earned a Bachelor's degree in Physics in 1962 and a Master's degree in Electrical Engineering in 1963. In 1965, Bauer joined the Hughes Research Laboratories in Malibu, California.

In 1973, he obtained his Doctorate in Applied Physics. Currently, Bauer holds a professorship at the University of California, Davis, where he has been teaching for over 14 years.

Contributions to Self-Aligned Gate Field-Effect Transistors

While working at Hughes Laboratories, Bauer dedicated much of his time to the search for a transistor element that would be ideal for any circuit. The general idea for such an element was proposed by Lilienfeld in 1920, but it was not realized at that time. In the late 1950s, planar technology was developed, followed by the invention of the first integrated circuits. Bauer's work on self-aligned gate field-effect transistors (SAGFETs) was a further development of these initial ideas. His invention allowed for a new level of transistor performance through the use of self-aligned gates. Bauer was granted a patent for his invention on October 14, 1969.

Controversy and Recognition

However, other scientists later claimed to be the true creators of self-aligned gate field-effect transistors. Kerwin, Klein, and Sarace argued that they were the actual inventors of self-aligned gates. It took a considerable amount of time to establish an accurate timeline of events. Ultimately, it was shown that Bauer and Hans G. Dill presented their work on self-aligned gates at the International Electron Device Meeting in Washington D.C. in 1966. Bauer was granted a patent numbered 3,472,712, while his competitors showcased patent number 3,475,234. After lengthy legal proceedings, it was discovered that Dill had filed a patent application for a similar technology one day before Bauer, with patent number 3,544,399, which significantly impacted the outcome of the dispute. These proceedings highlighted the imperfections of the existing patent system and led to the recognition that "the patent belongs to the one who first created the invention, not to the one who first patented it" is currently invalid in the present legal system.

Continued Work and Achievements

Bauer continued his work with various types of transistors, particularly MOS transistors, throughout his career. He has published over 80 articles, holds more than 28 patents, and has contributed to the writing of three books. More recently, Bauer joined the 'Integrate Vertical Modules' project, where he is currently working on three-dimensional highly dense structures. His active scientific contributions have earned him several prestigious awards. In 1997, his invention of self-aligned gate field-effect transistors earned him a place in the National Inventors Hall of Fame. In 1999, Bauer was elected to the National Academy of Engineering, one of the most prestigious honors an engineer can receive. Robert Bauer continues his scientific research and it is likely that his list of accolades will continue to grow in the future.